


Trial and Error

by SandfireKat



Category: The Good Doctor (TV 2017)
Genre: Advice with good intentions that goes horribly horribly wrong, Cute, F/M, Fluff, In which Shaun attempts to become a Cassanova, Only time will tell if he is successful, Romance, Slowing dancing and presents and confessions oh my, Sometimes friends don't know nothin'
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-26
Updated: 2017-11-26
Packaged: 2019-02-07 08:37:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,539
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12837417
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SandfireKat/pseuds/SandfireKat
Summary: Requested by punkrockbangus: Maybe something like Shaun wanting to ask out Lea, but not knowing how to. He ends up asking his friends for advice (Jared, Claire, Dr. Glassman, etc.), all of whom give completely different strategies, though none of them seem to work out. In the end, he ends up asking her in his own way, and she agrees. It would be nice to see how the date eventually goes :) Anyway, it was just a thought. You can take the idea and have fun with it any way you want. Any dose of Shaun and Lea is good enough for me!He wants to ask her right. He doesn't want to make a single mistake. So Shaun makes sure everyone tells him just how exactly he should ask Lea if she would be his girlfriend, to try and cover as many bases as humanly possible. He even tests the waters of ballroom dancing, in the hope that there's no way she could laugh, or say no. But it's easy to plan; it's easy to just make a list and mark things off as you go. Just like it's easy to memorize a textbook and perform a surgery. Love isn't surgery. Love is looser, and more unexpected. Love is a little more difficult, and Shaun isn't sure he's equipped enough to deal with it.





	Trial and Error

**Author's Note:**

> This work is a result of a prompt left to me by punkrockbangus on my tumblr blog thegooddoctorheadcanons. If you like it, I'd love to hear your feedback, and I'd really appreciate you checking out all of the other shorter snippets of writing I have on there. Also, if you have your own request, you could leave it there for me, as well. <3 
> 
> This story was written before season one, episode nine.

The resolution had been made gradually. Slowly, and with careful thought and deliberation. He was never one to leap into anything; this was no exception. There were…things to consider. There were aspects he had to account for— pros and cons he had to weigh. He'd made a list. In neat handwriting and two columns of organization. One side listed all the negatives. If she came over, she might play her music too loud in his apartment; if this happened, he wouldn't be able to block it out, and then he might get in trouble for the noise. Glassman had warned him not to get on the supervisor's bad side any more, unless he was trying to get kicked out of the building entirely. It wasn't exactly what he was attempting.

She could also take too many of his things. She had a track record for that, already. His batteries, his food— nothing was sacred, to her. Surely it would only get worse if he decided to do this? There were others listed in the 'Negatives' category, but they were less obvious. They weren't character flaws on her part; it would be more appropriate to label them as fears. She might say no. She might laugh. It might not last. She might not want to stay friends afterwards. She might move away, and then he wouldn't have anyone to be with at all in this building. He'd be alone, and that was the last thing he wanted to be.

However daunting the 'Negatives' column had been, though, the 'Positives' side had accumulated far more numbers, by the time he was finished. She was nice. She was kind, and helpful. She didn't treat him any different. She liked to be with him, and he liked to be with her. She was pretty. He liked the kind of hugs she gave, and if he did this, maybe he could finally kiss her, instead of just thinking about it. He would be able to know more about her. He wanted to know more about her. He wanted to call her his girlfriend— to let other people know she was special to him. He would be able to be with her more. And maybe she wouldn't laugh at him. Maybe she would say yes. Just maybe.

Yes. Shaun had made the resolution. He wanted to ask Lea if she would be his girlfriend.

He just didn't know how to do that.

That would be an entirely different battle.

The last time he had tried his hand at anything like this was ever-present in the back of his mind. Colleen had laughed at him—everyone had laughed. True that she had never liked him in the first place, or intended to actually be genuine. And Lea wouldn't ever do anything like that to him. But still. He didn't want to try again— he didn't want to allow himself the opportunity to mess this one up. He would be the first to say that he wasn't equipped for this type of thing. So he would ask. Everyone else knew what they were doing when it came to this. The obvious thing to do when you were a novice at something, surrounded by experts, was to turn around and seek advice.

So he would.

(~**~) (~**~) (~**~) (~**~)

"I like Lea," he announced. It wasn't the first time he'd said so, but it was the first time he'd said it like this, and to Claire. They were standing in the emergency room, loitering until they were needed for something. Shaun had been thumbing through the file of one of their recently released patients to pass the time, and Claire had simply been standing beside him, enjoying their silence. So when he suddenly announced this new development, she jerked in faint surprise. She turned to look at him; her eyes were much wider than normal, and already the edge of her lips were twitching up into a smile. Shaun opted to keep his eyes on the file. "I want to date her."

"No way!" Claire exclaimed, her smile bright and beaming now. She sounded over the moon. He wasn't exactly sure why she was so excited, given that it had little to do with her. But all the same, he didn't object to it. "That's great, Shaun, I'm happy for you," she gushed. "I think you've told me about her before once or twice; she sounds nice. She doesn't have a boyfriend, right? When are you going to ask her out?" She gave an excited little hop. "You've got to promise to tell me all about it! And you've got to bring her out with us one night! I'd love to meet her."

Shaun shifted his weight from foot to foot. His eyes kept flickering through the words on the page. "I don't know how to ask her," he confessed softly. Her smile dropped a little into a frown. "I've only tried something like it once. It didn't turn out well. I don't want to do it wrong." With this, he did pick his head up, and look to her a little searchingly. "How do you ask someone to date you?" he asked. "How do you do it right? So they don't laugh?"

She wilted. Her gaze became a bit pained, but she quickly righted herself and smiled at him. "She won't laugh, Shaun. Not if she really cares about you," she encouraged. "She'll think it's very sweet. You shouldn't worry about anything like that happening."

"But could you tell me how to ask?" the young doctor pressed. "I don't want to make a mistake."

Claire looked doubtfully at him for a moment more, before she melted and her smile turned gentler. "Yeah, yeah. Of course I can help you out!" She turned so she could lean on the counter. She clasped her hands together and took a deep breath. "So! You're going to want to give her the best night ever, first." She tried to stifle her laughter when Shaun immediately abandoned the folder and turned to her, his stare intent and focused. It was like she was teaching a lecture. Though maybe for him, she was. She shook it off and went on. "You should ask her if she wants to hang out— not on a date, or anything, just as friends. But you should take her to a fancy restaurant, and make sure to pay for it all. And you should take her someplace else, afterwards. Ice skating is really popular right now, and it'd be a good excuse to hold hands. It's fairly cheap."

"I'm not good at ice skating. I fall," Shaun interjected.

Claire nodded. "Right, uh…" She shrugged. "Well, how about this? You could take her to a park! You could walk around together after dinner; you know, just the two of you. You could talk all night long, and find out more about each other. You could show off your charm." She said this teasingly, leaning over and poking him in the shoulder. He looked down at her touch blankly. "And then you walk her back to her apartment. Since it's right down the hall from you, it's works out anyway. And when you get there, you just gotta take her hands. Like this."

She leaned over and grabbed gentle hold of both of Shaun's hands. He frowned and made a move as if to take them back, but stopped at the last second. She grinned even more at this. "You have to, Shaun, it's vital," she informed, before she cleared her throat. "You've got to hold her hands like this, and you've got to look at her right in the eyes— that's a really important part. You look her in the eyes, and you tell her every single thing about her that you like. Nothing you don't, Shaun, that's important too. Just tell her everything about her that you love, and tell her that she would make you the happiest guy in the world if she would go out with you." Her eyes were sparkling with something in between mischief and genuine whimsy. She winked when she finally released his hands. He quickly took them back. "Lay it on thick. Girls like that mushy stuff. But I guarantee you if you do it just like that, there's no possible way she would say no."

He was thoughtful as he looked down towards the floor. He hummed in the back of his throat, and turned back to look at her. "Okay," he said simply. "Thank you."

"Did that help?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.

He hesitated. "Maybe." Claire frowned a bit, and tilted her head to the side. But he didn't wait for her to ask anything else. Abruptly he turned, and left her behind. She started to ask him what part of her advice had seemed wrong. But he was heading down the hall quickly, and didn't exactly seem as though he'd stop to even look back over his shoulder. So she ended up just closing her mouth uncertainly and watching him go, a little befuddled.

(~**~) (~**~) (~**~) (~**~)

"I like someone." The second time he declared the fact that day was during lunch. Without any warning, and without looking from up his food. Glassman's head, however, immediately snapped up, and his gaze zeroed in on Shaun like he was a target. Despite the shock and intensity, Shaun just took another bite of his sandwich. Glassman was too surprised to say anything, which was just as good, because it meant Shaun could continue once he swallowed. "How do I ask her if she'll date me?" The question was blunt and just a little bit awkward. Something Glassman was used to. The subject matter, on the other hand…

"You do?" he asked after a moment's silence. Shaun nodded. A smile twitched over the older man's face, and he scooted his chair a little closer to the table. "Really?" It was like someone was telling him he'd just won fifty thousand dollars for doing absolutely nothing. "Well, what's…what's her name? What's she like? Have you talked to her? How long have you known her?"

"Her name is Lea," Shaun clarified. He'd mentioned her before, and recognition was quick to flash through the man's eyes. Despite this, Shaun went on anyway. "She lives next door. We met in the hallway. She likes to take things from me." This information was spouted in a 'What are you going to do?' sort of way. "But she's nice. I like her, and that's what you do when you like someone. You ask if they'll go out with you." He looked off to the side. "I just don't know how to ask," he admitted. "Claire said I should take her to dinner. And tell her everything I like about her. That'll be easy, because I made a list about all the things I liked about her and all the things I didn't like. To help me decide if I should date her. I could just show it to her, and that way I don't have to say it all again."

"No, no," Glassman refuted at once. Nearly before he was finished speaking in the first place. Uncertainty and confusion leaked into Shaun's stare. His lunch abandoned, Glassman let out a slow exhale. Thought was quick to take over his features. "No, that's…don't do that, Shaun. I'm sure Claire meant well, but you shouldn't do that." He looked at the young man carefully, and his smile was quick to worm back over his face. "You really like this girl, Shaun? Do you…think she likes you too?"

"She comes to my apartment all the time," he reasoned. "She likes to talk. A lot. But I like to listen to her." Shaun was beginning to smile, now; the fact made Glassman's own grin grow about tenfold. "I let her borrow things. She usually gives them back. She once told me that I was the only person she could trust. When I'm not working, I like to spend time with her. Last weekend we went shopping together; she had to buy a dress and wanted my opinion on how she looked. But I always think she looks pretty. She's the first thing I think about when I wake up in the morning. And she's the last thing I think about before I go to bed." It was all stated very simply, as if it didn't matter. But Glassman knew for a fact it was the exact opposite. "So I'd like to ask her if she would be my girlfriend. But I can't think of how. What would you do?"

Glassman's stare was so soft it could probably be molded like Play-Doh. At Shaun's timid question, he looked as though the reward he was being given had just been doubled to one-hundred-thousand dollars. "Sure, sure, I could tell you what I would do," he said. "But my advice might be just a little bit dated," he teased. Shaun didn't seem to mind, because he was all ears. "In my experience, it usually works if you buy her something nice. Not anything too fancy, or over-the-top. But maybe a necklace or a bracelet. Something that she would like. Not only is it something pretty, but it tells her you know enough about her to know what kind of jewelry she would like." His voice sharpened just a little bit with his next warning: "Nothing expensive, Shaun, nothing too expensive. You already jumped for that TV, don't blow two hundred dollars on this."

"Okay," Shaun replied. "Nothing expensive."

"Yes," Glassman agreed. He stared at him for a moment more before that smile cracked his face again, and he gave him a little nod. "If you get her a gift like that and tell her you like her, I'd say you're pretty well off. She won't be able to resist." Shaun looked back at his sandwich, becoming more interested in his food again. But Glassman wasn't as prepared to drop the subject. "Tell me more about her," he encouraged, his eyes practically gleaming.

"What do you want to know?" he asked.

"Well…anything!" the other blustered. "I want to know everything about her, Shaun!"

He mumbled, turning and shaking his head a bit. "That would take too long."

"Well, you don't have to tell me everything," he amended. "But I'd like to know—"

"I have to get back to work," he announced, already standing up.

"But wait, you can't just—"

"Thank you!" he interrupted. A genuine but rushed sentiment that made to indicate that he was more just wanting to leave. So even when Glassman tried to call him back, he still spun around and headed back the way he'd come, leaving behind a quarter of his sandwich untouched. The older man sighed, his shoulders drooping as he looked back at the table in slight frustration. He would hunt him down later. Or he would call him, at the very least. He would demand more answers. But for now, he just resigned himself to collecting their plates and cleaning up after the both of them.

(~**~) (~**~) (~**~) (~**~)

"I want to ask a girl if she would date me."

Jared stopped short at the unexpected declaration. The other resident was standing by his side, watching over the biopsy should anything go wrong, or should Jared need help. Mostly he had been sent there because they were just short on things to do that day. Their to-do list was so vacant, in fact, that Claire was currently helping some of the nurses reorganize about five stacks of files that had been messed up by a new intern. Jared glanced away from the screen to look at Shaun instead, and his movements stilled, but he quickly recovered and looked back front. Shaun had never looked away in the first place. "A girl?" he repeated, his voice more than a little incredulous. "You want to ask a girl out?" he asked.

"I do," Shaun replied. "Her name is Lea. I like her a lot."

"Do you?" Jared mused, a smile worming slowly over his face. He laughed a little bit. "That's good— good for you. When are you going to ask her? Have you figured out what you're going to do?"

"No," Shaun replied. "I was going to ask how you would do it."

"Me?" He sounded surprised. "You want my advice?" He started to withdraw the colonoscope, slowly as to not harm the patient. They'd been firm on the stance of receiving sedation for the procedure, despite their reassurance it usually wasn't needed. It was just as good, though, because this conversation probably would be even more awkward should they have had the patient listening in. Already, the nurse was pretending not to listen. Jared had removed small samples of the patient's colon tissue, which would have to be sent in for analysis. From there they could figure out what it was exactly that they needed to do for them. It was routine procedure, and it wasn't even of real pressure. So he was a little more inclined to carry conversation. "You've never asked me for advice before."

Shaun clasped his hands together and rocked a little bit onto the balls of his feet. "You know more about this than I do," he declared. "You would be better."

Jared raised his eyebrows a little bit. He shrugged. "Maybe I would be. What do you want to know?"

"I want to know what to do. How to ask her out so she doesn't say no."

"Yeah, that's always pretty much the end goal." Shaun's attention was trained more on Jared than the procedure, but that was alright. Jared was focused now, and he was just going through the motions of drawing it to a close. It wasn't difficult; it could be done with half his attention anyway. "Well. It's never been too much of an issue for me." This was said just the smallest bit smugly, and Jared snickered at Shaun's faint noise of disapproval. "But if you really want, I'll teach you the best move I have. Always saved it up for the girls that were really playing hard to get. It's got a lot of power behind it— if you use it, you've got to do it right." There was a smile on his face that made Shaun concerned on whether he was actually being serious. But Jared seemed completely solemn when he declared his next few words. "You've got to sweep her off her feet."

Shaun shifted uncomfortably. He watched as Jared isolated the tissue and removed his gloves. "I don't know how to do that."

"That's why I'll teach you," Jared declared. "You've got to serenade her." Shaun wilted in confusion, and he watched as his friend marched over to the nearest sink to wash his hands. All the while, he was talking over his shoulder. "If you ask Claire, she'll probably try and act all high and mighty, and say that it's a cheesy move. And it is. But only if you do it wrong. If you do it wrong, you make an idiot out of yourself, and you'll likely have little to no shot at all. But! If you do it right…" He came back, looking at Shaun with a focus that demanded full attention. "Then she won't have a single chance. She'll be screwed."

"I don't want her to be screwed," Shaun refuted.

"I mean she won't have any choice but to say yes," Jared revised patiently. "If you do it right, then any girl on this plant, including Claire, would be smitten." This seemed to brush him the wrong way because he took in a slow breath and doubled back. "Maybe not Claire. But I'm certain for your girl, it would be perfect. So. What you're going to want to do is pick a song you know—"

"I don't like to sing," Shaun objected weakly.

"Okay, you're going to have to work with me, here," Jared sighed. "It doesn't have to be a really good song, and you don't have to be a really good singer, it's just the way that you sing it that makes it all work. So. You're going to pick a song; probably a slow one. And you're going to ask her to dance with you. Very casually, like you don't have anything up your sleeve." Shaun started to open his mouth. "Shaun, I swear to God, if you tell me you don't like to dance, I'm going to throw this colonoscope at you." Shaun closed his mouth. "Anyway. You choose a song, and you ask her to dance. You don't have to have very impressive moves, you've just got to, you know, kinda sway from side to side."

He looked at Shaun steadily. "The important part is, you hold her as close as you possibly can. So there's barely any space between the two of you. You hold her gently, and maybe reach up to tuck her hair behind her ear. And about halfway through the song, you start singing along, very quietly, while you keep dancing. And you hold her even closer. You've got to look at her like she's the only person in the entire world. And then once the song ends, you lean down…and you kiss her." He raised his hands in the air with a flourish. "And then it's done. If she kisses you back, then you don't even have to ask her out."

"What if she doesn't?" he asked.

Jared's smile turned a bit more awkward. "Well, then, you'll be screwed," he laughed.

Shaun blinked. He looked at their patient, still asleep, as if they could help him. And he looked back, clearly a little bit more than daunted. "It sounds very complicated," he hedged.

"What part of it sounds complicated?" Jared prompted. "Maybe I can clear it up."

Eventually, he mumbled: "All of it."

Jared took in a slow breath. But he just nodded. "Okay. Well. For starters. You're going to want to talk…softer than you usually do," he broached. Shaun just stared. Jared made a face. "Okay, but that's—that'll be the last thing we go over, it's not that important. What is important is the dancing and the singing, those are the kickers. If you can't do that, you might as well not do it at all. Have you danced before? Here, just— just show me how you would do it, if she were here."

Shaun looked at him like he asked him to cut off his leg and hand it over to him. He turned just a bit, with a pinched look. He raised his arms up in midair awkwardly, as if to wrap around someone that wasn't there. He glanced at Jared with more than a bit of doubt, but when Jared only nodded his head, he turned back front. In tiny, hardly there steps, he started to edge back and forth. Almost the usual sway but not quite. Jared had to cut him off, before someone else saw. "No, no, stop— Shaun, stop. Please." Shaun jerked to a halt. "No, that's— I mean, it's fine, it's good. But…it could be better. Here."

He stepped over to him and started to reach out. Shaun stumbled backwards like the other resident was made of fire. His eyes were wider than normal, and Jared raised his hands up in something close to surrender. "It's fine, Shaun! I'm just going to coach you on how to do it. You wouldn't believe how many dance lessons I was forced to take when I was younger, I'm practically an expert. You could stick me on Dancing with the Stars. I would probably win the whole thing." Shaun didn't relax at all, but he did let his arms drop back down to his sides. "You want to get this girl to like you, yeah?" Jared nudged. He nodded. "Alright, then, here's what you're going to do."

He raised his eyebrows imploringly. Shaun, still stiff as a board, sidled back closer. Jared held back a sigh, but all the same, he grabbed hold of the other's wrists. "If I am her…" he started out, "then you're going to want to put your hands right here." He put them on his sides, just above his hips. "No lower, or you're going to get smacked right across the face. Trust me." Shaun looked like he would rather be facing the sweet embrace of death. But he was still paying attention, albeit reluctantly. "And if she's ever been to a single cheesy school dance before, she'll end up putting her arms like this around you, and you've got to be ready for that." He reached up and locked his hands together behind Shaun's neck. He pulled him just the tiniest bit closer. "Like that, okay? And then you just kind of step back and forth, it's not hard. It's the easiest kind of dance to do."

He started the sway, and Shaun followed his lead after a moment's hesitation. It was a little clumsy at first, but it gradually evened itself out into something more akin to the smooth flow it was supposed to be. Jared grinned, surprised that the other was actually able to catch onto it so quickly. "Okay, but you can't look like that," he objected, having to look down at him a little awkwardly to see his face. "You look like I'm threatening the lives of your family, you have to look like you're enjoying yourself. Otherwise she'll just be creeped out." Shaun nodded once. If he made an effort to change his expression, though, Jared couldn't see it. He shook his head. "Or here, this is the part where you start to sing, so what you could do is—"

"What in the world is happening in this room!?"

The instant the voice was heard, Jared literally shoved Shaun off of him, like he was being attacked. It was enough force to send Shaun to the ground, and he hit it with a little bit of a painful thud. Jared turned around to see Claire standing in the doorway of the room. Her eyes were wide, and her expression was halfway between irritated and amazed at what she had just walked into. A smile was spreading over her face that only doubled in mischief at Jared's reaction, though at the shove, she leaned a little bit more into that irritation. "What in the world is going on!?" she pressed. "You're supposed to be checking the patient for colon cancer, not— …what were you two doing!?"

The nurse that had been helping them with the procedure was still standing beside the patient. Her eyes were huge, and her lips were pressed tightly together. Awkwardness and tension was radiating off of them practically in waves. Jared had forgotten they were there, and right about now, he was wishing that the floor would open up beneath him and just swallow him whole. "Nothing!" he snapped. "We got the tissue sample, we just finished! He was— asking me about how he should ask a girl out, and I was just answering him!"

Claire nodded. "By slow dancing with him right after you performed a colonoscopy," she mused.

Shaun was picking himself up off the floor. If he was miserable before, it was nothing compared to the look on his face now. Jared was right there with him, though. "No," he spat. "I was telling him that if he wanted her to say yes, he should dance with her. Sing a little bit. You have no idea how many girls it's worked on before and wipe that smile off your face, because you know I'm right!" he ended in a snap. "It works like magic! But he couldn't dance, so I was just showing him how to!"

"Magic," she chirped, her eyes flashing as she smirked. "Didn't really work on me, though; so it can't be completely foolproof." Jared huffed and rolled his eyes, looking pointedly to the corner of the room. Claire exhaled and dismissed it. She turned to Shaun now, and shook her head. "Shaun, don't listen to him, he has no idea what he's talking about, okay? You stick with what I told you before. Just take her to some places, walk her home, and tell her how you feel. Tell her how smart you think she is! Tell her how you appreciate the things that she does for you, and tell her that you love her company. That's all you've got to do." She frowned. "You don't have to do a whole song and dance just to get someone like to say they'll go out with you. That's not the point."

Before Shaun could say anything, Jared was interjecting. "Don't tell her she's smart!" he snapped. "Tell her she's pretty— that she's beautiful! No girl wants to be complimented on her brain. Or at least not on the first date! That's for later on, otherwise she'll think you're just saying it, because you don't really know." He walked closer. "Shaun, just listen to what I said. Just…impress her, and then just tell her she's the most beautiful girl you've ever met, and she'll definitely fall for you. It's a sure thing that way."

Claire scoffed. "Typical, that you think the only thing a girl cares about is looks," she grumbled. "Girls like it more when they're complimented on literally anything else. And if he has to force himself to do something he doesn't want to just so Lea will say yes to him, then Lea isn't the right girl for him anyway! Right, Shaun?" She flashed him a small smile, but the instant later, she was looking back at Jared irritably. "Are you even going to apologize for pushing him? First you give him the worst dating advice I've ever heard, and then you shove him! Say you're sorry!"

"It's not the worst dating advice!" Jared exclaimed. "You just think that all girls are as—" He blanked. He gestured a little oddly, and it was clear by the light in his eyes he immediately regretted saying anything.

Claire leaned back a bit, her eyes going wide. "Just as what?" she demanded, her voice sharp. Shaun watched the two in silence. "No, go ahead, be my guest! Just as what?"

"I didn't...nothing, I wasn't going to say anything, I—"

"You certainly sounded like you were going to say something! Spit it out! I want to hear it!"

"What I meant was…"

"I know what you meant! I just want to hear you say it!"

"Sometimes you can just be a little…"

Shaun turned and opted out of the room. His steps were rushed and hurried as he left the bickering two behind, to flee for safety. The nurse turned and watched him go, reaching out as if to pull him back so that she wasn't alone. He was gone in a flash, though. The girl sagged in disappointment and turned back to the two doctors in front of her. Then back at the patient, still under the influence of sedatives. And tried to figure out the best way to break up the fight without losing an arm.

(~**~) (~**~) (~**~) (~**~)

"Is it difficult to ask someone if they'll date you?"

"Excuse me?" Melendez had just been about to get into his car, when the question was proposed from somewhere behind him. He turned and tried not to have too big a heart attack when he saw Shaun standing just a little ways behind him. The young man's hands were knitted tightly, and he looked just the slightest bit anxious as he stared at him. It wasn't the first time Shaun had followed him to his car, and he was sad to know for a fact that it also would not be the last. But still, he had that initial jolt of shock. Once it passed and he fully processed the question, his forehead creased. "Why are you asking me this?" he demanded.

"You would know," Shaun pointed out, as if the answer should have been obvious. "You're getting married."

"Well…yeah," he mumbled slowly. One hand was still on his open car door. There couldn't be a better hint that he was wanting to leave. "I am." Shaun didn't say anything; he just kept staring at him with the expectant look on his face. Melendez let out a slow breath and decided that maybe if he caved, this would be over quicker. Whatever this was. "No, it's not difficult. Not if you do it right." This didn't seem to be satisfying enough for Shaun, who looked away in the smallest bit of frustration. "I don't know! It depends. On who it is, or how long you've known each other. It's never the same every time."

"How did you ask Jessica if she would date you?" Shaun reworded.

Neil's eyes narrowed just a bit. "Why are you asking me this?"

"I want to ask someone if they would go out with me. She's very important to me. So it's important that I don't do it wrong. I thought you would be able to tell me how. You're very smart."

The older doctor did a double-take. "Shaun, are you— asking me for dating advice?" he demanded. His tone seemed to be a deterrent for Shaun, now. The younger doctor weakened, and he averted his gaze. He said nothing, just rocking back on his heels in silence. The reaction was sobering, and, looking over him for just a moment, Melendez heaved a small sigh. He stepped away from his car and shut the door with a tiny slam, which Shaun winced away from. "It wasn't hard with Jessica," he answered. His student looked back at him now. "We'd known each other for a while, since we worked at the same hospital. Our coworkers used to make fun of us every day, telling us we should just bite the bullet and go out already. One day we were passing the time together, and I just looked at her and said maybe we should." He shrugged. "There wasn't much to it."

Shaun nodded, but in a way that conveyed disappointment. "Hm. That won't help me," he murmured.

Melendez eyed him. "Well, then, I'm not sure what to tell you, Murphy." He was about to leave it there and turn back to his car, when he stopped short and decided against it. For some ungodly reason, he felt compelled to stay. "Look," he sighed. "What does this girl do? Do you know?"

"She borrows things from me, sometimes without asking," Shaun replied affirmatively. "And she goes to the gym."

He closed his eyes briefly. "I meant as a job," he clarified. Shaun said nothing, so Melendez went on. "Well, regardless of what she does, it won't be half as impressive as what you do, I'm sure. Just tell her you're a surgical resident." He shrugged, in a way to show that there wasn't much else. "That'll probably be all you need to say. Just tell her what you do every day; she'll think it's impressive. Just leave out the part about how you're constantly bugging your boss with weird questions." Unlike how it might have been before, the words were softer and clearly only teasing. And with this extra extension of advice, Neil turned and started to get into his car. Though he stopped to look at Shaun and how doubtful he still seemed, and he flashed him a smirk. "Good luck, Murphy," he called. "Hope you won't need it, though."

Shaun watched in silence as the car revved into life and backed out of its space. Even as it pulled away and left, he lingered in the parking lot, a little distressed still, as he watched it go. He stayed put for another few minutes or so, just looking on. Before he turned and headed back into the hospital.

(~**~) (~**~) (~**~) (~**~)

He checked the time again. It was still 6:00. 6:40, but still, it wasn't seven quite yet. He looked at the small box he held in his hands— at the necklace he had gone out and bought for her. It had taken ages for him to find the right one. He still wasn't sure it was the right one. Glassman had said that this gift was important to show that he knew what she would like, but he didn't. Or at least, he wasn't sure. How was he supposed to be sure she would like this one, and not the one that had been right by it? People's minds changed all the time, depending on what it was; what if that was one of the times she would change? He hadn't even bought anything for her yet, this was his first attempt. If it went wrong, would she be mad? Would it ruin his chances of her saying yes?

He turned and put the box down on the table with a thud that sounded a little bit too loud. He would let that be for a moment, and go to his closet instead. He had picked out the restaurant to take her to— Claire had texted him the address, and said it would be the perfect place. Shaun had never been there before, so he wasn't sure if she would like it. He wasn't even sure what food she liked. The only food he'd seen her eat before was his apple. But it was a fancier place. He had to make sure that he was wearing the right clothes for it.

However, he was only halfway to his closet, when there was suddenly a knock on the door. He stopped short and turned, nervous at the interruption. He glanced to the left and debated on just ignoring whoever it was. But he couldn't do it, and just veered for the door instead. Opening it, though, he stiffened when he saw who was standing on the other side of the threshold. Lea was grinning wide, her hair pulled back into her usual messy bun. She was wearing jeans and a baggy shirt— not at all the proper attire for where he wanted to take her. He hadn't had the chance to invite her, yet. He was going to change and then go; she wasn't supposed to be here.

"You!" she chirped, pointing at him as if to clarify, when really they were the only people in the vicinity of…well, anything. "You are going to let me inside your apartment," she ordered. "And you and I are going embark on the greatest adventure you have yet to experience!"

"We are?" he asked. Anxiety was beginning to prickle underneath his skin.

"Yup! Shaun, do you know how much of an actual felony it is that you haven't watched Stranger Things yet?" she snapped, already stepping around him and inside. Shaun shuffled to the side to let her, and he closed the door. Though his stare lingered on it in desperate disappointment. "Season two is out, and you haven't even seen a single second of the first season! I'm pretty sure you're like the only person in America who hasn't, so we're going to fix that immediately. Starting right this second, we are going to binge watch all of season one, and I'm not leaving until you're in love with it and ready to start season two. And until you thank me for doing you this enormous favor. You're lucky I care about your well-being so much. I brought my laptop and everything. We're going to hook it up to your monster of a television, and it'll be fantastic."

Shaun followed her in, his hands wringing together. "Do you…want to get dinner?" he asked.

"Yes!" Lea cheered. But Shaun's smile dropped when she continued. "We'll order pizza! You can't properly binge watch something unless you have stuff to eat, anyway. We can order from the store down the road; my friend works there, and he'll give us a discount. And we can get sodas from there, too, we can go all out. Is this your first binge ever? We've got to do it right, so you'll always remember it. Do you like soda? Or are against that like you're against coffee?" She was already pulling out her phone, after putting her laptop down beside his flat screen. Shaun looked from her to the door, distressed. She was oblivious, though. "You usually can't go wrong with Pepsi…what do you like on your pizza?"

He looked away from the door now. Mentally, he crossed off dinner. That wouldn't work. He'd have to move on to something else. The young doctor was slowly becoming frazzled and edging near the danger of panicking. He was scrambling for something to say, and wildly, he landed on the first thing that came to mind. 'Just tell her what you do every day.' "I'm a surgical resident at Saint Bonaventure," he reminded her. "It's a very good job. I just got back from it."

She looked up from her phone at this. She looked a little concerned. "Oh, are you…like, on call tonight, or something? Isn't that a thing you guys do? Because you don't have a life, so you just kinda always wait around for something to happen at work?" When he said nothing, she threw him a lopsided grin to show she meant no harm. "Well, if you've got to leave for something, I can just pause it and wait for you to get back. It's not like I'm doing anything else anyway. Unless you wouldn't want me loitering around your house. I promise I won't steal your ginormous TV, no matter how tempting it'd be. It'd be too heavy. Otherwise I might. Or! You could just text your boss and tell him you can't come in tonight because you're finally watching the greatest television show on the planet. I guarantee you he'd understand." She winked, to show that she was only joking. She'd gotten in the habit of it after many a misunderstood conversation the two had shared.

She sat down on the edge of Shaun's bed, and waited for an answer. Shaun eventually shook his head. "I'm not on call. I made sure I wasn't tonight."

"Oh!" She frowned, looking a little confused. "Did I mention doing this already? Or— hang on a second, are you busy tonight, or not? You're being weird."

Shaun agonized for a moment. The words were fumbling at the tip of his tongue; he could just explain it all to her. But it would take too long, she wouldn't listen, she wouldn't understand, she might think he was being irritating. She already looked crestfallen; if he broke her plans, would she be upset? All that ended up coming out was a bright and peppy: "I'm watching Stranger Things." This seemed to be the perfect thing to say, because she lit up like a Christmas tree. It was enough to at least douse his anxiety, which was sparking to life.

"Heck yeah, you are!" She was ecstatic, like they were going to Disneyland instead of preparing for a night of sitting and staring at a television screen. She smiled and patted the spot on the bed by her, silently inviting him near her. He padded over after a moment and took the seat, drawing up to himself and looking at the television intently. Lea snickered. "You know you're supposed to like, mount this type of TV on the wall, right?" she asked. "I mean, I'm all for cutting corners and everything, Shaun, but this is a little much. My mom used to say if you sat this close to a screen, you'd go blind."

"You don't," he notified.

She giggled. "Good to know. Now, give me the remote. And tell me what the heck you like on your pizza."

(~**~) (~**~) (~**~) (~**~)

They were on episode three. The pizza had been delivered a while ago, but the box was sitting on the dining table. Shaun had been adamant that there couldn't be any food outside the kitchen, but Lea had whined enough to get him to budge on allowing one slice of pizza on a plate. So rather than just eating straight from the box like she usually did, Lea was balancing the plate in her lap; but she didn't mind. Shaun hadn't had any yet. Every time she asked if he was hungry, he said he would get some later. The truth was, he wasn't hungry at all. And he was hardly paying attention to whatever was on the screen.

The entire night was going wrong. He couldn't take her to dinner because they had gotten dinner delivered. He couldn't take her to the park because they still had five episodes left and it was already around ten at night. What if she fell asleep here— then he couldn't walk her back to her apartment and he couldn't do anything that Claire had told him! Melendez's advice hadn't worked either. He was crossing more and more things off of his mental list, and he was running out of options. He fidgeted every so often, and his hands wrung together. He couldn't sit still, and he couldn't get the tension out of his shoulders. He was wracking his brain on what to do, and he was beginning to overthink it all. Eventually it was impossible for Lea to ignore the fact that he was shifting around so much, and she turned to look at him warily. "You alright, Shaun?" she asked. "Do you not like it so far?" She already seemed disappointed.

He hesitated, looking from her to the television. She frowned and paused the show, so she could divert her full attention to him. "Do you wanna take a little break?" she offered. "I could use a top off on my drink, anyway." Shaun looked down at his lap, fidgeting again, and she took it as agreement. She hopped up off the bed and made for the kitchen. "Maybe it starts out a little slow, but I promise you, this show is the best! Here, how about we watch two more episodes and if you still don't like it, then we can quit. You can't say I didn't try."

"Okay," Shaun offered. He tried to slow down and think. If he said he didn't like it, she would be upset. But then maybe he could be able to walk her back, and he could tell her everything then. Everything…what was everything, again? He had to make sure nothing was left out. He had to make sure that what he was going to say would be good enough, and that it covered all the points it was supposed to. He could map it all out now, that way when it came to it—

"Hey, what's this thing?" He looked up quickly at Lea's voice. She had gone over to stand at the table, to pour herself another cup of soda. But she'd gotten sidetracked; instead of holding her drink, she was now holding the small box Shaun had down there earlier. Immediately, he stiffened. He'd forgotten he'd left it there, with everything else that had happened. Now she was holding it. She wasn't supposed to do that. It was supposed to be a surprise!

He stood up and rushed for her, maybe a little too fast. "Put it down," he requested, making it more of a demand on accident. "It's a gift."

"'A gift?'" she repeated, smiling now. "Oooh! Who's it for?"

"Nobody!" he yelped, reaching out and trying to snatch it from her.

She giggled, hopping away. "Aw, c'mon! You never keep secrets, that's your whole thing! It's what this friendship is based on, am I going to have to rethink our entire relationship, Shaun?" She faked a pouty face, but the question made him jerk to a stop. She softened. "Can I see it? Who's it for? It looks pretty fancy, is it for someone special?" He said nothing and just stared at her. She looked at him questioningly for a heartbeat and when he didn't say or do anything more, she took the top of the box off.

Inside was the necklace he had bought for her. He'd made sure it wasn't anything expensive, because Glassman had made sure to tell him not to. It was the best thing he could find at the price he had set the limit to. At the end of a thin, silver chain was a tiny heart-shaped locket. The fragile heart was made of glass— only bordered by a thin ring of silver. And inside that glass casing, were three small forget-me-not flowers, dried and pressed so that they would be sure to last. It wasn't much. But the moment Lea's eyes landed on it, her face fell, and her expression changed in a way that Shaun couldn't quite put a finger on.

"This is beautiful, Shaun," she murmured. "This is— it is for someone? A girl?"

Inwardly, Shaun was rummaging through everything he had, trying to figure out what he was supposed to say. He could tell her she was pretty, that's what Jared said to do. But Claire had said not to do that, she had said to say other things. And yet at the same time, Glassman hadn't said either of those things. But he'd also said to give her the box, and she had just taken it. She was always taking things! That had been on his list— should he show her the list? He should underline that part of the list. It was a very big factor. But Glassman said he shouldn't do that. He couldn't even remember where he'd put it. Where had he put it? It had to be somewhere around here— where was it? All this was thought in a rush, and all at once. It could only have been a few seconds, but it certainly felt like forever. He slowly looked more and more away from her, trying to figure out what to do and trying not panic underneath the layers of worries.

He started to open his mouth and tell her that it was for her – would that be wrong? – when she was talking again. "That's…that's great, Shaun, I'm happy for you. Though I'd— I'd just figured I would have met her. Or you would have told me about her, first." He studied her, trying to decipher the expression that was on her face. Was she sad? Was she sad because he hadn't told her about the gift? She'd said she was happy for him. Did that mean she didn't have any feelings for him? So many questions were cramming into his head, he hardly heard her when she continued. "The, uh— the other resident you've told me about? The girl? What's her name again?"

Shaun nodded. "Claire," he informed.

Lea smiled. "Right." Her voice sounded different. She turned after a pause and set the box down on the table. "Claire." Shaun watched in faint bemusement. He leaned down to pick it back up. She glanced away, to the door, as her lips started to press together. Once Shaun straightened, box in hand, she took in a quick breath. "Maybe we should put a tack in Stranger Things. We can finish it sometime else." His head whipped up, now. "I just forget I have, uh…I have something early tomorrow morning, and I can't be late for it."

"You're leaving?" Shaun asked. If his mental list was tangible, it'd probably be ripped to shreds by now.

"Yeah," she sighed, almost apologetically. Her eyes flickered to the box, and when they returned to Shaun, they flashed again— in that weird emotion the young man just didn't know what to do with. "You must be tired, too, from work. We don't have to binge it, we can just watch it as we go. Just remember where we are and we can pick it up later."

"Did I do something wrong?" Shaun asked, his grip on the box tightening.

Lea stiffened. She looked at him oddly, which only offset him even more. "No! No, of course not, Shaun! I'm just tired, I just want to go home." She turned and started to make for her laptop.

She was going to leave— she was going to get her laptop and then she would leave!

"Let me— let me walk you home," he stammered, taking a step after her.

Lea stopped a little short. She seemed to wilt, but she gave him a smile and shook her head. "Shaun, it's five steps down the hall, it's not much of a walk. You don't have to."

What was happening!? Why was this so hard!?

"You're upset, but you're smiling," Shaun said slowly, walking after her. The girl looked at him from the corner of her eye. She bent down and picked up her laptop, unplugging it from the television. "Are you sad because of the necklace? It's not—"

"I'm not upset!" she objected. "Really, I'm fine!" She turned and marched for the door. Shaun still kept on her tail. "I'd just like to get home before it gets too late." He weakened, his stomach knotting. She started to reach out for the doorknob. "Goodnight, Shaun. Sorry about—"

"I learned to dance, today," he blurted out, trying anything to stop her in her tracks. This was his last resort— the thing he wanted to do the least. But to his relief, it did the trick. She halted and looked back at him like he'd just grown two heads. "Jared taught me. After he finished a colonoscopy." A smile twitched at the side of her mouth. "He taught me where to put my hands, and he said that when I sang I had to talk lower; but we never got to that part, so I don't know what he meant." He inhaled sharply and let it out just as much so. "Would you like to dance with me?"

"Would I like to dance with you?" she echoed. Her eyes were sparkling again, the way they usually did when she smiled. The way that Shaun liked them. "Who in the world are you, and what have you done with Shaun Murphy?" she giggled. "No— I don't dance, Shaun."

"Oh, good," Shaun exhaled, his body losing just a touch of its tension as he sagged a bit. "I don't either. I was bad. And Jared pushed me."

"Why did you try dancing?" Lea asked. "That seems like a dangerous pastime. Though I guess you were in the hospital already…" she added a little under her breath.

"Jared said that was the best way to ask a girl out," he explained. Lea stilled a bit. She lifted her eyes up from the floor, and they flashed again. "He said if you dance with a girl and if you sing to her, she has no choice but to say yes. He said she would be screwed." This was said with clear distaste. He moved on. "But I wasn't good at dancing, so it's good that you don't like it." Her hand fell away from the doorknob; it dropped lifelessly back to her side. "Claire said that you should take her out to dinner and walk her home afterwards. You came to my apartment before I could ask if you wanted to go eat, so I couldn't do that, either. Doctor Melendez said that I should just say where I worked, even though you already knew. And when I asked Doctor Glassman what he would do, he said he would buy a necklace or a bracelet. He said to buy something that would show that I know what you would like."

He looked down at the box. Lea's gaze followed his a little blankly. "I didn't know what you would like. But the name Lea can mean meadow, so I wanted to get something that would be close to that. So I went with flowers. It's not for Claire. It's for you." He handed her the box, and she took it slowly. Her forehead was slowly creasing over in shock and confusion, but her lips were curling up into a smile more and more the longer he went on. "I was going to give it to you later. You weren't supposed to see it, but I didn't have time to put it anywhere else before you came in. I messed up. I'm sorry."

"This is…for me?" she asked, shocked.

"Yes," Shaun answered. "Do you like it?"

Her eyes softened, and she opened the box again to look at the necklace. "I love it, Shaun, it's beautiful." He beamed. She took the chain out of the small container and offered it to him. "Can you help me put it on?" He accepted the task in silence. Lea turned around and he looped the necklace into place, locking the chain together and making sure that it wouldn't go anywhere. She turned back around, and grinned. "It looks perfect," she announced.

"Yes," Shaun agreed. "It does."

She hesitated before she looked up at him again; her eyebrows drew together. She crossed her arms over her chest. "Shaun…were you trying to…do something tonight?" she hedged carefully. "And…did I ruin it?"

"You did," he assured her. Her face fell. "But it's okay. I asked each of my friends what they would do to ask someone if they would date them, and they all gave different answers. Claire and Jared got into an argument. It was very confusing. I didn't know which one to do, so I tried to do all of them. It still didn't work." He rocked forward a bit. "It was a mess. I understand if your answer is no."

"My answer?" He nodded once. Lea looked him up and down, and she tilted her head to the side. "You haven't asked me a question, yet, Shaun. How can I answer?"

"I did ask you," Shaun objected.

"No, no, I'm pretty sure you didn't." She smiled, stepping away from the door and closer to him. She eyed him skeptically, smiling now. "Why did you go and ask a bunch of people how to ask someone out, anyway? Why didn't you just…do this the way you wanted to?"

"I would mess it up," he said, looking away again. "I'm not good with things like this. And I wanted to do it right for you." She melted at the admission. "I didn't want to say or do it wrong. I tend to do that. I didn't want you to laugh, and I didn't want to ruin our friendship. I wanted to make sure you said yes, but now it's alright if you say no." He didn't make eye contact with her, despite the fact that she leaned down a little bit to try and catch his gaze.

At the insecurity, she frowned. "Shaun." Her voice was just the smallest bit harder, if only to get his attention back front. He turned just a little bit at the call, and she looked at him imploringly. "Ask me." He said nothing; his lips were glued together. This time she could plainly see the fact that his hands were wringing in anxiety. So she smiled, and her voice was much more encouraging when she repeated: "Ask me, Shaun. Go." She put her hands on her hips. "I'm not getting any younger here."

He hesitated. But after a pause he turned and he finally looked at her. She smiled when their eyes met, and she waited patiently. It took him a couple of self-collecting seconds. But finally he scrounged up the courage. And, trying to hold onto at least one piece of useful advice he'd been given by maintaining eye contact, he asked softly: "Would you be my girlfriend?"

Immediately, Lea giggled. She ducked down and shook her head; her cheeks tinged over a bright pink. Shaun started to weaken and deflate at her laughter, and almost subconsciously started to backtrack. Realizing this, she reached out and grabbed hold of his hand. She did so gently, and he stopped. The girl's stare was adoring, and shook her head again. Her laughter was happy— ecstatic, even. It wasn't even the smallest bit malicious. Even when Shaun stopped and turned back to her, she kept hold of his hand. He didn't pull away.

Her giggles died away, though, and so did her smile. Instead, it was replaced with a look of thoughtful warmth. Her eyes searched his as she started to inch a little closer to him. He still didn't move. He didn't move when she was inch away, and he didn't move when her other hand drifted upwards to rest against his shoulder. She started to get up onto her toes, mentally cursing the height difference between the two of them. Each movement was slower than normal, to give him the chance to refuse. He didn't. He was still as a statue as she leaned closer, and he still didn't move when her lips pressed up against his gently.

She could feel him go rigid immediately at the contact. But she was more focused on the butterflies that exploded in her stomach, if she was being perfectly honest. It wasn't like any of her other first kisses she'd had. It wasn't clumsy or awkward, but it wasn't heated, either. It wasn't desperate or needy. It wasn't fast or rushed. It was slow. It was small, and it was chaste. She could feel his hesitation— his worry. She could feel her own nervousness. After the initial shock, her heart skipped a beat as she felt him finally begin to kiss her back, to move his lips against hers as his free hand drifted up to rest on her side.

It didn't last long at all. It was only a few seconds— only a few shy give and takes of lips, before they separated. There was a giddy smile on Lea's face that only grew when she saw the look that was on Shaun's. Her hand was still holding his, and he still hadn't withdrawn. In that moment, it occurred to her just why exactly he had been moving all around during their TV watching, as if he'd been covered in ants. He must have been worrying all night, purely for a scenario that was actually very straightforward and simple. He went to the trouble of buying her something so special. He played twenty questions all day at work and probably bugged the crap out of everyone he was with. It even sounded like he went to the lengths of slow-dancing through the halls of his hospital just to do this simple thing.

Lea's chest constricted with warm affection, and she laughed again. She shook her head, a little aimlessly. "You're completely ridiculous," she notified him. The young girl sobered, and looked at him with her head tilted to the side; her smile was as soft as cotton. "You're silly," she reinstated in a tinier hum.

Shaun's reply was immediate, as if it was already armed and ready. As if it was something he had been waiting to say for ages, and now it was finally allowed to burst out. "You're beautiful."


End file.
